During semiconductor wafer fabrication, extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light can be utilized in a lithographic process to enable transfer of very small patterns, such as nanometer-scale patterns, from a mask to a semiconductor wafer. In EUV lithography, a pattern formed on an EUV lithographic mask (also referred to as an EUV reticle in the present application) can be transferred to a semiconductor wafer by reflecting EUV light off of portions of a reflective surface. A pellicle can be placed in front of the mask to, for example, avoid contamination of the mask and to prevent unwanted particles from reaching the mask surface, so as to avoid alteration of the pattern to be transferred by the mask.
Due to the very short wavelengths (high frequencies) used in EUV lithography, conventional pellicle materials absorb significant amounts of the EUV radiation, i.e. conventional pellicles are too opaque for EUV lithography. However, due to finer patterns in EUV lithography, the need for a properly functioning pellicle is even greater than conventional lithography.